Sonny Outlook

Maurice Benard Opens Up About Steve Burton’s Return, The Sonny/Sam Dynamic And More In A Revealing Sit-Down.

- Mara Levinsky

Soap Opera Digest: Our Editors’ Choice in this issue is for the week that saw Sonny reunite with Stone, in a manner of speaking, when Stone helped give him the strength to keep fighting. What were those scenes like for you to shoot?

Maurice Benard: Well, the truth is that I personalize a lot of stuff, especially when it’s material that is important to me. My best friend was murdered about six years ago, so when Michael Sutton as Stone came into the scene, I just played that it was my friend so, you know? Whatever it was is whatever it was. But, yeah, that’s what that was [for me], so it’s tough.

Digest: Did you watch them?

Benard: Yeah.

Digest: How did you feel watching them?

Benard: It was a little difficult. That day, I had to do 32 scenes in five hours, and then I went to finish this movie that I did, and my scenes were with Mickey Rourke. It was a trip! I had to do that [material on GH] in the morning and then go there at night.

Digest: When you have a particularly intense day of work like that, do you feel the support on set from the crew and everything, like, to help you get through it?